Tomopop Review: DC Comics Bishoujo Harley Quinn

The Bishoujo line just keeps getting better and better. Harley Quinn is testament to this. Of course, she went through some revisions and even pioneered a new accessory trend for the line based on both regular production woes and fan feedback. And where did that get her?

It got her this beautiful release with two different face plates and lots of fancy gloss, in ultra bold red and black which makes her stand out from the rest of the Bishoujo line. Read on for my full review.

Harley's box, as with all the Bishoujo figure packaging is just plain white with the illustration and some words in the back along with a preview of the next figure in the line, which in this case is Power Girl. Harley already looks wonderful from out here, so let's dig in.

Once she's out, she'll have her faceplate with less makeup on, and no assembly is required. She's balancing with her oversize hammer in a playful and seductive way while smiling.

The first thing I noticed off the bat is the gobs of gloss on the figure. I, personally, am a fan. I understand some folks don't like it though, even though it makes the figure look so much nicer. The second thing I noticed is how her musculature is so well defined despite her body being completely covered. Unlike other Bishoujo figures, her sexiness isn't accentuated with a low cut top, her butt hanging out of spanx or midriff in the air. It is instead totally communicated through her toned arms, strong legs (especially that calf!) and appropriate waist size to go with her not-overly-large bust.

Harley doesn't have the benefit of transparent PVC hair flowing about in the wind, and instead has her head covered in her hood here. It's kind of a brave thing to do on the design end, and from my end I think it looks fabulous. The shape is dynamic enough that I don't feel like there's a loss of "space" there or that her head looks too small or anything of the sort. She's just right.

There is no innuendo-free way to describe her hand placement on her hammer, so I'll just say I dig the placement and molding. I like that she isn't necessarily grasping it (creates tension, darkens the mood), but instead she's just propping herself up with it playfully. The overall pose is a great translation of her character, so I gotta give Kotobukiya some props. The only real complaint I'd have about the hammer is there's some visible seaming if you pay attention to such details. It isn't nasty, by all means - it's rather light. But it's there.

As I mentioned before, she's got strong legs on her. Her thighs are thick (though not as glorious as Poison Ivy's) and there's plenty of realism molded into the tights like at the front and back of the knee pictured above. Stuff like this is what puts this figure from "above average" to "cream of the crop." Harley also has an ample butt that I can get behind.

Harley's standard face is nice and fleshy. She has pretty minimal make-up on; just some pink lipstick to go with her mask. Her eyes are super expressive -- it's like they've got a million stories right there. While she's being all playful, there's a seriousness there in her face that shows she's got something else in mind, as always.

This is also a good time to look at the detailing with her mini cape, which matches her hat at the ends. There are two ways to look at the mini cape/collar - it's either a little too fondant-looking, like a fat layer of thick yet soft plastic draped over her shoulders, or a layer of stretched material adding to the overall realism of the statue. The ruffles around her wrists set it off nicely to add just enough sharp details to give her so much movement.

And finally, here's Harley with her makeup face. The business of swapping face plates is made easy by a little magnet that keeps them in place, so there's never any complicated wedging or peg-popping or anything to deal with. Just pop it out, put the face you don't need in the compartment attached to the bottom of the base, and then install the new face over the magnet. Like the clean face, she doesn't have any eye makeup or really anythinge extra besides the lip gloss. She doesn't need much to look pretty, anyhow.

A big thanks goes out to Kotobukiya for providing Tomopop with this figure! Handling Harley has truly been a pleasure, and I'm glad to see that one of the figures I was most looking forward to this year has been immensely successful in its execution. It has very few flaws, such as the minor seaming I mentioned (and some additional seaming with her arm, which is mostly covered by her collar), and some slight color mis-matching between a red piece from her body suit and a red piece of her arm, but that's nothing that would be apparent on the shelf. As a fan and as a discerning collector, this figure is definitely as good as it gets for a much-loved (in a weird way, yeah?) comic book character.

The bokeh hearts were inspired by Harley's love for Mr. J! You can achieve the same effect by placing some holiday lights behind your subject and shooting the pictures with a little heart cut-out over the front of your lens and opening your aperture wide (setting the f-stop at its lowest numeric value). The further the lights are behind your subject, the better the shapes will come out.

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